Pass this date and time on to everyone you know.

Saturday, Aug. 21
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
At the Old Gym and Play Court areas in the center of campus, behind the Convent

Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon
4440 SW 148th Ave.
Beaverton, OR 97007

Where: Valley Catholic Valiant Gym

When: Monday, June 7th 9am-2pm

Appointments are still available all day; walk-ins welcome.

To set up appointments or for further questions, call the high school office at (503) 644-3745 ir email Katie McAuliffe.

Principal Ross Thomas enjoys giving sophomore JP Rivera a little clean up.

Valley Catholic held its 10th annual Locks of Love event in May. With a huge K-12 turnout, student participation garnered close to 300 inches of hair. Even High School Principal Ross Thomas got into the act of shaving off some of his beloved’s students’ hair. At least those losing their locks were comforted by the upbeat jazz band playing in the background during the event.

For some it was a family affair. The Shew sisters Theresa at VCES, Kathleen at VCMS and Elizabeth at VCHS all grew their hair out for the event.

Locks of Love is a non-profit organization formed in 1997 that provides wigs to children across the country who suffer from long-term medical hair loss. This hair loss can be a result of many things, from radiation therapy to a currently incurable condition in which a patient loses their hair for no known reason. Wigs cost at least $3,000, and are unobtainable for many children. More than 2,000 children have received the custom-fitted hairpieces they need free of charge.

In the past nine years Valley Catholic students and adults have donated about 3,600 inches of hair.

The Valley Catholic tradition started 10 years ago by the Younkin family.

You can view select images of the fun event here.

John Dolan

In a recent competition sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Optimists Club, Valley Catholic Middle School student John Dolan took 1st Place in the Regional Competition. According to his father, John “brought his A game” to the event. 

The contest allows for students up through age 16, to write a speech about a specific topic.  “Cyber Communications: Progress, or Problem?” was the topic for the students to discuss.

Contestants recite their speeches at each round of competition. John was pitted against 15 other opponents, including another fellow Valley Catholic 7th grader Adeeb Chowdhury. Way to go, John!

Winning the districts allowed him to advance to the district finals held May 21 in Newport, Ore. where he competed against students from other states and from Canada.

Students did exceedingly well, placing three times as well as earning an honorable mention. The library received nearly 200 entries in the high school category alone.

Click the name of the limerick below to read it. You can see the rest of the winners of the contest at the Beaverton Library Events Web site, click on the pink “April 2010 Limerick Contest” button on the bottom of the page.

Middle School Division (Grades 6-8):

• Third Place - “Cheese” by Jack M. - Grade 8, Valley Catholic M.S.

High School Division (Grades 9-12):

• First Place - “The Roman Toga” by Elizabeth S. - Grade 10, Valley Catholic H.S.
• Second Place - “To Curl Or Not to Curl” by Tessa T. - Grade 11, Valley Catholic H.S.
• Honorable Mention - “The House Pet” by Elizabeth S. - Grade 10, Valley Catholic H.S.

Danny Keagbine '08

This Saturday, Valley Catholic students have set up a fundraising concert for one of their own. This event is being held on Valley Catholic’s soccer field to support 2008 Alum Danny Keagbine and his battle with cancer.

The Beaverton Valley Times wrote two articles, one featuring Danny and his family, and another about the concert, the student organizers and the bands who are performing.

You can find the article: “Show of support fuels recovery” by Christina Lent here.

You can find the article: “High school rocks for a good cause” by Gail Park here.

“Groovin’ for a Cure” will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on the Valley Catholic High School soccer field on Saturday, May 15. Tickets are $6 a person.

Mr. Weber comes to Valley Catholic from Blanchet Catholic School in Salem, Ore. serving students in grades 6-12. He has worked as the school’s Principal since 2000 and prior to that was its Vice Principal for three years.

The President of Valley Catholic is responsible for overseeing all management, fiscal, programmatic, and planning activities of the PreK-12 school. Mr. Weber will work closely with the school Board of Directors and supervise and support all school administrators. Major initiatives will be to strengthen the continuity of curriculum development across grade levels as well as to increase the visibility of Valley Catholic School in the Portland area.

Mr. Weber is not new to campus as he spent four years teaching and coaching at Valley Catholic High School from 1993-1997. Weber is a 1987 graduate of Central Catholic High School in Portland and holds a journalism degree from the University of Oregon. He also holds a master’s in teaching from Pacific University.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bob,” said SSMO Ministries President Sr. Adele Marie Altenhofen. “He has a genuine sense of the tradition and values of our unique campus; he is eager to come back and be a part of it again.”

Valley Catholic School Board Chair Tom Cleary said, “The Valley Catholic School Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Mr. Robert Weber. We are pleased to have such a bright, energetic and experienced individual to join us as our school President and are confident he will move Valley Catholic forward in exciting ways. This is a great day for our entire community.”

Mr. Weber will be introduced to the entire faculty and visit the campus frequently in May and June. The school community will hold a welcome event for him when classes resume in September for the 2010-11 school year.
In looking forward to his new role, Mr. Weber said, “My goal is to carry on the traditions established over the past 100 years by the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon and to help Valley Catholic become a stronger, more unified community that shares a common vision of excellence.”

Please visit the Presidential Announcement page to access Mr. Weber’s biography and photo. You will also be able to see the official Valley Catholic press release and read Mr. Weber’s responses to some of the questions posed to him during the interview process.

We welcome Bob, his wife Christina, and his three children, Abby, Grace and Max, to our campus community.

Click here to see the Groundbreaking video and other great school moments on our Web channel www.valleycatholictv.com

Nearly 200 parents and friends of Valley Catholic and the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon attended the festive groundbreaking event for the new K-8 School Wednesday, May 5. The site where the school will be built was transformed into a Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Everyone gathered to eat, drink, celebrate and watch school representatives don hard hats and dig in the dirt with golden shovels.

VCES Principal Susan Friesen said, “You folks threw a fabulous party last night!!! Some of us are still shaking ourselves awake to the fact that it is really happening. Teachers are talking excitedly about having rooms that are actually big enough for 28 students per classroom, with sinks and more than just one or two outlets to boot, plus modern technology to assist us with our teaching.”

Students and teachers are excited that construction has begun as more space and newer facilities are a welcome change from being housed in the 1930s Convent and in portable buildings.

Pre-schooler Simon Armstrong digs in the dirt to start the construction of the new K-8 School where he'll be able to attend Kindergarten.

The new facility will be a 67,000 square foot state-of-the-art building, constructed to achieve a Gold rating with the United States Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The building will emphasize controlled natural lighting, energy saving mechanical systems, “green” and recycled materials and other strategies as a part of a commitment to sustainable practices. The construction project also calls for a new improved traffic flow for the campus as well as additional parking.

The new K-8 School will be open for students in September of 2011.

A similar groundbreaking event was held for all students earlier the same day where everyone was given commemorative water bottles and ice cream. Pictures will be available at a later date. To view a gallery of pictures from the evening event, please click on this link.

Annex demolition will occur throughout the month of May.

While it will be interesting at any time to observe the activity, it will be especially noteworthy when major events happen such as the demolition of the annex, the felling of trees, and the raising of the walls on the actual building. The cameras are in real-time and will also make it possible for us to create a time-lapsed version of the K-8 School’s construction when the project is complete in the summer of 2011.

You can get to our Web cams any time from our home page at www.unitedwethrive.org. You can also see them here. Be sure to bookmark the site and visit often.